British track sprinter Katy Marchant has announced her retirement after a long and distinguished career racing for Team GB.
The 33-year-old will leave the sport as the reigning Olympic champion in the Team Sprint, which she won with Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell in Paris, and with a host of other titles from a 13-year career.
"I’ve achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of achieving," she said in an interview with BBC Sport, after the announcement.
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"It feels really strange. It’s not been a difficult decision. Don’t get me wrong, there have been moments where I’ve thought, 'Could I just, should I just, what if I just?' But I know what it takes to push on for another two years."
Marchant’s cycling journey began in 2013 when she switched from athletics and joined British Cycling’s Senior Academy. The following year she won Bronze medals in the Keirin and Team Sprint at the under-23 European championships, before winning four senior national titles in 2015.
Her first Olympic success came at the 2016 games in Rio where she took Bronze in the Sprint event behind Kristina Vogel and fellow Brit Becky James.
Marchant had to wait until after the birth of her first child to reach her best results at the highest level, with 2024 an outstanding year in which she won the European 500m TT, the Team Sprint rainbow jersey and Olympic gold, both with Finucane and Capewell.
Her final career success came racing for England at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she took the Team Sprint Silver medal, this time with Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith.
"I’m incredibly proud of where I’ve got and what I’ve done. I just don’t want to make those choices anymore to keep doing what it takes to get to LA," she said.
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